KR20060105678A - Body attachable sanitary protection article including tactile placement aid - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a liquid permeable cover, a liquid impermeable barrier layer, a body contact surface, a contact surface in the body, an adhesive for fixing to the body so that the product is disposed on the body contact surface, and a tactile sensing arrangement that the user can sense tactilely from the contact surface in the product. It relates to an absorbent product comprising water.

Liquid permeable cover, liquid impermeable barrier layer, body contact surface, contact surface in, absorbent article.

Description

Body attachable sanitary protection article including tactile placement aid}

Examples of aspects of the invention are now described with reference to the drawings:

1 is a perspective view of a contact surface in a sanitary napkin attachable to the body in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, including a partially removed release material.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the body contact surface of the sanitary napkin attachable to the body shown in FIG. 1, including the partially removed release material. FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the sanitary napkin shown in FIG. 1 along line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is an enlarged perspective view of a sanitary napkin attachable to the body shown in FIG. 1.

5 is a perspective view of the body contact surface of a sanitary napkin attachable to the body according to the second aspect of the present invention with its release material partially removed.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sanitary napkin shown in FIG. 1, illustrating that the user senses the placement of the sanitary napkin with a tactile sense.

7 is a perspective view of a contact surface in a sanitary napkin attachable to the body according to the third aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a detailed view of the sanitary napkin of FIG. 7 showing a portion of its tactile sensing arrangement. FIG.

9 is a perspective view of a contact in a sanitary napkin attachable to the body in accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention with its release material partially removed;

10 is an exploded perspective view of the sanitary napkin of FIG. 9.

The present invention relates to a sanitary protective product attachable to the body, comprising a sanitary protective product attachable to the body such as a sanitary napkin and in particular a tactile sensing arrangement.

A variety of absorbent products are well known that are disposed in the vicinity of the body and formed to absorb body fluids such as menstrual blood, urine and the like. Feminine hygiene products, sanitary napkins and liners have been developed for external use to the vulva of women.

Fixation of a sanitary napkin or sanitary liner during use is generally accomplished by attaching the sanitary garment to the wearer's underwear with a pressure sensitive adhesive. Also known are sanitary napkins having wings or flaps that fold at the edges of the garment and are glued to the underside of the garment using an adhesive.

The prior art also teaches hygienic protective products that are fixed directly to the body by an adhesive applied on the body contact surface of the product. For example, British Patent Application No. 2284767A is known to disclose an absorbent article comprising an absorbent and an adhesive disposed to be adjacent to the absorbent and designed to adhere to the wearer's body during use. U. S. Patent No. 6,213, 993 is known to disclose a self-adhesive absorbent product comprising a liquid permeable coating, an absorbent core, a liquid impermeable suppressor plate, and a body adhesive disposed over the cover for securing the product to the body. have.

A problem with hygiene products attachable to the body of the type described above is that it is difficult for the user to place the product in a proper position with respect to the body. In particular, users have difficulty in aligning the product over the vaginal opening because they often have to place the product on the body under conditions that are virtually invisible due to the anatomical location to which the product should be attached to the body. This problem often causes the product to adhere to inappropriate body parts and degrade the overall function of the product. In addition, improper placement of the product may damage the product during use and thereby leak fluids.

In view of the above, there is a need for an improved body attachable hygiene product that overcomes the shortcomings and shortcomings of the products disclosed in the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a tactile sensation that a user can sense tactilely from a body contact surface, a contact surface in the body, an adhesive applied to the body contact surface to fix the product to the body, and a contact surface in the product. An absorbent article attachable to a body comprising a batch.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a user's tactile sensing from a cover layer, a barrier layer, an adhesive applied to a body contact surface of the cover layer to secure the product to the body, and a contact surface within the product. And an absorbent article attachable to the body comprising a tactile sensing arrangement positioned in a position aligned with the vaginal opening of the user.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the invention relates to a cover layer, a barrier layer constructed and arranged to extend a portion out of the end of the cover layer, a portion of the barrier layer extending out of the end of the cover layer to secure the product to the body. An adhesive applied to a body contact surface of a body, and a tactile sensing arrangement disposed in a position adapted to be tactilely sensed by the user from the contact surface of the product and aligned with the vaginal opening of the user. will be.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention,

By tactile positioning a tactile sensing arrangement on an absorbent article attachable to the body,

By tactile aligning the tactile sensing arrangement with the user's vaginal opening,

A method of applying an absorbent product attachable to a body to a body, comprising adhering the absorbent product attachable to the body to a user's body such that the tactile sensing arrangement is aligned with the user's vaginal opening.

Specific embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the recited drawings in which like or identical components are assigned the same or similar identification numbers. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The detailed description of the present invention relates to some specific aspects of the present invention, and other aspects within the scope of the present invention are apparent to those skilled in the art.

1 to 4, a female sanitary napkin 20 is shown as a first aspect of the present invention. The sanitary napkin 20 has a body 22 having a first transverse side 26 defining its front side and a second transverse side 28 defining its rear side. The body 22 further includes a body contact surface 25 and an inner contact surface 27.

As shown in FIG. 4, the body 22 is a laminated structure and preferably includes a fluid permeable cover layer 42, an absorption system 44 and a fluid impermeable barrier layer 50. Absorption system 44 may include a single layer of material or may include multiple layers. For example, the absorbent system may comprise a single layer core or may comprise a transfer layer and a core.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-3, adhesive 33, which secures the sanitary napkin 20 to the user's body, is applied to the body contacting surface 45 of the cover 42.

Sanitary napkin 20 further includes a tactile sensing batch generally identified by number 60. In certain aspects of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-4, the arrangement 60 includes a plurality of concentric rings 62 disposed about the central circular zone 66. Concentric rings 62 and land regions 66 may be formed by embossing a product having a pair of embossing rolls having a pattern corresponding to the shape of concentric rings 62 and central circular zone 66. Other techniques for forming the tactile sensing arrangement 60 will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the concentric rings 62 have a concentric ring 62 and a central circular zone 66 with respect to the flat outer layer portion 64 of the non-embossing of the barrier layer 50 during the embossing process. It is formed to extend outward. In this way, each concentric ring 62 and central circular zone 66 are capable of being perceived by the user tactilely from the non-embossed portion 64 of the barrier layer 50. The concentric rings 62 and the central circular zone 66 each preferably extend out by a distance “d” relative to the flat portion 64 of the non-embossing of the blocking layer 50. Preferably, the distance "d" is at least 0.25 mm, more preferably at least 0.50 mm, most preferably at least 1.0 mm. In this way, the user can tactilely perceive the tactile sensing arrangement 60 from the non-embossed region of the product. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the concentric rings 62 and the central circular zone 66 are sanitary napkins in which the geometric center of the central circular zone 66 and the geometric center of the tactile sensing arrangement 60 are to be placed over the vaginal opening. 20 is formed to be disposed at a point above. Alternatively, the placement 60 is designed and arranged such that its geometric center is located at a point on the sanitary napkin 20 to be aligned with the vaginal opening.

The adhesive 33 used in the article according to the invention is a block copolymer, preferably a linear or radial copolymer structure of formula (AB) _x (wherein block A is a polyvinylarene block and block B is poly (mono) Alkenyl) block, and x is the number of polymer arms, which is an integer of 1 or more. Suitable block A polyvinylarenes include, but are not limited to, polystyrene, polyalpha-methylstyrene, polyvinyltoluene, and combinations thereof. Suitable block B poly (monoalkenyl) blocks include conjugated diene elastomers such as polybutadiene or polyisoprene, or most preferably hydrogenated elastomers such as ethylene-butylene or ethylene-propylene or poly Isobutylene or combinations thereof, including but not limited to. Specifically, adhesives consisting of styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene (SEBS) block copolymers and mineral oils, paraffinic or naphthenic process oils and optionally suitable adhesive resins include natural resins and modified resins; Glycerol and pentaerythritol esters of natural resins and modified resins; Polyterpene resins; Copolymers and terpolymers of natural terpenes; Phenolic modified terpene resins and hydrogenated derivatives thereof; Aliphatic petroleum resins and their hydrogenated derivatives; Aromatic petroleum resins and their hydrogenated derivatives; And aliphatic / aromatic petroleum resins and hydrogenated derivatives thereof; And combinations thereof.

Adhesive 33 may be in the form of an adhesive as described in US Pat. No. 6,191,189 to Cinelli et al. In particular, the adhesive 33

Macromolecular polymeric materials or mixtures thereof, soluble or swellable to the plasticizer (s) described below (including but not limited to natural and / or synthetic materials, such as natural gums or derivatives, such as natural gums) And gelatin, derivatives and alginates thereof; polyacrylic compounds; polyvinyl alcohols; polyethylene oxides; polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or polyvinylethers, copolymers and derivatives thereof; cellulose derivatives; block copolymer thermoplastic elastomers , Preferably styrenic block copolymers, more preferably hydrogenated styrol / ethylene-butylene / styrene (SEBS), styrene / isoprene / styrene (SIS) and styrol / ethylene-propylene / styrene (SEPS). 0.5 to 20% by weight, preferably 5 to 15% by weight,

Plastic materials that are liquid at room temperature or mixtures thereof (including but not limited to water, various alcohols (particularly glycerol), glycols and ethers thereof, polyglycols, liquid polybutenes, esters such as phthalates, adipates, stearates, Palmitate, sebacate or myristate; natural or synthetic oils, such as vegetable oils, mineral oils or combinations thereof) 45 to 95.5% by weight, preferably 51 to 99.5% by weight,

0-50% by weight of macromolecular polymeric material, preferably 0-600% by weight, of adhesive resin, whose main effective range is to match the Tg to systems based on synthetic polymers,

Materials for facilitating and stabilizing gel forming processes consisting of hydrophilic or hydrophobic liquid plasticizers (including oily systems, such as fatty acids of C ₈ to C ₂₂ , metallic salts thereof and polyoxy-derivatives thereof; lanolin derivatives; Silica; bentonite, montmorillonite and derivatives thereof; polyamides, waxes or mixtures thereof) 0 to 10% by weight, more preferably 0 to 5% by weight.

The adhesive may also be of the type described in US Pat. No. 6,213,993 to Zacharias et al. In particular, the adhesive may comprise:

Rubber base adhesives such as styrenebutadiene, polyisobutylene, polybutadiene and polyisoprene; Water-soluble adhesives such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, and methyl cellulose; Block copolymers of styrene-butadiene-styrene, styrene-isoprene-styrene, styrene-ethylenepropylene-styrene and styrene-ethylenebutylene-styrene; And high melt adhesives such as quaternary block copolymers such as styrene-ethylene propylene-styrene-ethylenepropylene.

Other adhesive types herein include anhydrous gels consisting of 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate polymers as taught in US Pat. No. 4,303,066, polyethylene glycol and any water and polyurethane gels or manufacturers as described in US Pat. No. 4,661,099. Silicone gels including commercially available products such as Silgel 612 from Wacker Silicones (Adrian, MI) or SSA-9700 soft skin adhesive from Dow-Corning (Midland, MI).

The adhesive 33 is protected by a removable release material 47 before use. The release material 47 may include a single layer structure or may include a laminated structure. For example, the release material may be made of poly silk ^R brand paper commercially available from Loparex Inc., Willowbrook, IL. A removal coating 53 is provided on the inner surface of the release material 47 to facilitate removal of the release material 47 before use. The release material 47 is disposed such that the coating 53 contacts the surface-to-surface adjacent to the adhesive 33 before removal of the release material 47. The removal coating 53 may be a material based primarily on polydimethylsiloxane chemicals, commonly referred to as "silicon".

Now, a method of applying the sanitary napkin 20 of the present invention to the body will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6. Before attaching the sanitary napkin 20 to the body, the user first removes the removable release material 47 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 from the body contacting surface of the cover 42. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the user aligns the geometric center of the placement 60 to be in contact and the center of the placement 60 to be in contact with the vaginal opening (not shown). After aligning the placement 60 to the vaginal opening, the user then pressurizes the contact surface 27 in the interior of the product, such that the body contact surface 25 of the sanitary napkin 20 is strongly pressed against the body, thereby providing a sanitary napkin 20 ) To the body. By using the above method, the user can visually confirm that the sanitary napkin 20 is placed in a proper position without having to adjust the product.

Another sanitary napkin 20b of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the sanitary napkin 20b, the blocking layer 50 is configured such that its portion 61 extends outward relative to the end 63 of the cover 42. An adhesive portion 33 for attaching the product to the body is applied to the body contact surface 65 of the blocking portion 61. The sanitary napkin 20b is provided with a removable peeling material 47 covering the adhesive portion 33 before use. As shown in FIG. 5, the release material 47 may have a shape that affects the entire upper surface of the cover 42 and the blocking portion 61. Alternatively, the removable peeling material 47 may have a substantially oval shape (not shown) such that the peeling material 47 coincides with the blocking portion 61, and also matches the shape of the cover 42. It may have a central open area (ie, an opening through a central oval). The remaining structure of the embodiment of the present invention 20b shown in FIG. 5 is the same as that described above with respect to FIGS.

A sanitary napkin 20c, which is a third aspect of the invention, is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The tactile sensing arrangement 60 in the sanitary napkin 20c is formed by a plurality of raised members or protrusions 70. A detailed view of the raised member 70 is provided in FIG. 8. The raised member 70 is formed, for example, from a non-contact adhesive applied to the contact surface 27 in the interior of the article.

The raised member 70 can be applied to the substrate by any means known in the art, such as control coating, control fibrosis, pattern coating, gravure coating, rotating screen printing and spray coating. Devices for coating substrates are commercially available. One example is DYNAFIBER, available through the Nordson Company. Another example is ITW, available through the Omega Company. When the raised member 70 is applied through the melting process, the time taken to cool the applied coating affects the height of the raised member. If the coating is not cooled sufficiently quickly, the coating can penetrate the substrate to such an extent that the raised member 70 is not formed. In order to solve this problem, it is possible to quickly cool the applied film and to prevent tailing by using an air knife that uses air, which can be quenched. The contact angle between air and the applied coating can also affect the height of the raised member 70. Air is typically in contact with the coating at an angle of about 10 to about 80 degrees. The raised member 70 can be in any shape, such as a line, wave, interconnected pattern, circular dot, hexagon, heart, diamond, rectangle, star, triangle, or the like. The density, height and diameter of the raised member may vary as long as the member can be easily sensed by the user tactilely. Preferably, the raised member 70 has a height of at least 0.25 mm, more preferably at least 0.50 mm and most preferably at least 1.0 mm.

The raised member 70 is made of any suitable material that can be easily sensed by the user tactilely. Suitable materials include, but are not limited to, hot melt coatings, natural rubbers, synthetic rubbers, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, and thermoplastic elastomers. Colorants or pigments may be mixed with the coating.

Suitable hot melt coatings for producing raised members include HL-7471 W (HB Fuller Co., St. Paul, Minn.) And REXTAC amorphous polyolefins [manufacturer] : Huntsman Chemical. For example, a hot melt coating containing about 15 to about 100% olefin polymer or block copolymer, about 0 to about 60% tackifying resin and about 0 to about 50% wax may be useful. Suitable olefin polymers include the following polymers:

a) the olefin polymer is a polymer which is a homopolymer of ethylene, propylene, n-butene, butylene or isobutylene, having a melt flow index of 0.5 to 2500, for example Ateva ^R polymer [manufactured by AT Plastics], Escorene ^R and Vistanex ^R polymer [manufactured by Exxon Chemical], Duraflex ^R polymer [manufactured by Shell Chemical] Epolene ^R polymer (Eastman Chemical) and Vestoplast ^R polymer (Creanova);

b) polymers in which the olefin polymer is a copolymer of ethylene and a comonomer such as vinyl acetate, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, ethyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate vinyl silane or maleic anhydride, for example example, art bar ^R polymer [manufactured by ET Plastics in] El boxes (Elvax ^R) polymer [manufactured dwipong (Dupont)], Escobar Rennes (Escorene ^R) and opt in town (Optema ^R) polymer [manufactured by Exxon Chemical Company; , And Primacor ^R polymers from Dow Chemical; And

c) wherein the olefin polymer is vinyl acetate, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, ethyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate vinyl silane or maleic anhydride, such as Ateva ^R polymer from AT plastics, Nucrel ^R polymer (manufactured by: DuPont) and ^R Escor polymers: a terpolymer of ethylene and a comonomer such as (manufactured by Exxon Chemical).

Suitable block copolymers consist of the structure (A--B) _x (where A consists essentially of polyvinylarene blocks, B consists essentially of poly (monoalkenyl) blocks, and x represents the number of polymer branches. Block copolymers having a linear or radial structure, wherein x is useful. Block B may be selected from conjugated diene elastomers such as polybutadiene or polyisoprene and hydrogenated elastomers such as ethylene-butylene or ethylene-propylene. Suitable examples of such polymer forms include Kraton ^R elastomers (Shell Chemical Company), Vector ^R elastomers (Dexco), Solprene ^R elastomers (Enichem Elastomers) and Stereon ^R elastomers (Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.) It includes. If the hot melt coating contains a block copolymer, the coating preferably includes about 15-50% of the block copolymer.

Suitable tackifying resins include a) natural and modified resins; b) glycerol and pentaerythritol esters of natural and modified resins; c) polyterpene resins; d) copolymers or terpolymers of natural terpenes; e) phenolic modified ferpene resins and hydrogenated derivatives thereof; f) aliphatic petroleum resins and hydrogenated derivatives thereof; g) aromatic petroleum resins and hydrogenated derivatives thereof and h) aliphatic / aromatic petroleum resins and hydrogenated derivatives thereof such as Foral® resins of Hercules, Staybelite® resins, Poly-pale® resins, Permalyn® resins, Pentalyn® resins, Adtac® resins, Piccopale® resins, Piccotac® resins , Hercotac® Resin, Regalrez® Resin and Piccolyte® Resin, Escorez® Resin from Exxon Chemical, Goodyear Tire & Louver Corporation Wingtack® Resin from Rubber Co., Arkon® Resin from Arakawa Chemicals, Zonatac® Resin from Arizona Chemcal, Zonarez® Resin and Zonester® Resin and Neville Chemical Company Include any suitable resin or mixture thereof selected from the group consisting of panoramic (Nevtac) ® resin.

Suitable waxes include, but are not limited to, paraffin, Fischer-tropsh and microcrystalline wax, and combinations thereof. Suitable microcrystalline waxes are, but are not limited to, those available from BE SQUARE 175 microwax and More and Munger (Moore & Munger, Shelton, Conn.) Available from Bareco Division, Petrolite Corporation. M-5165 is included. Suitable polyethylene waxes include, but are not limited to, H-101 from Exxon Chemical, Houston, Tex. Suitable Fischer-Tropsch waxes include, but are not limited to, Paraflint from Schumann Sasol, Hamburg, Germany.

As shown in FIG. 7, the projections 70 collectively define a circular geometric shape in the case of the particular example shown in FIG. 7. Preferably, the protrusion 70 is aligned so that the geometric center 71 of the shape defined by the protrusion 70 is positioned on the product aligned with the vaginal opening of the user. The remaining structure 20c of the aspect of the invention shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is the same as that described above with respect to FIGS.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a sanitary napkin 20d is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. In the sanitary captain 20d, the tactile sensing batch 60 is formed from one or more additional layers of material applied to the outer surface 69 of the barrier layer 50. In certain embodiments shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the tactile sensing arrangement 60 includes a first ring 72 of material, a second concentric ring 74 of material and a central circular zone 75. The materials used to form the first ring 72, the second ring 74, and the central circular zone 75 may be nonwovens, film materials, or other materials used in hygiene protection products. The material of the first ring 72, the second ring 74, and the central circular zone 75 is applied to the outer surface 69 of the barrier layer using, for example, an adhesive or other known method. The material used to form the tactile sensing batch 60 preferably has a thickness of at least 0.25 mm, more preferably at least 0.50 mm, most preferably at least 1.0 mm. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the concentric rings 72, concentric rings 74 and the central circular zone 75 are formed by the geometric center of the central circular zone 75 and thus the geometric center of the tactile sensing arrangement 60. It is formed to be placed in the sanitary napkin 20d position to be positioned above the vaginal opening. That is, the placement 60 is constructed and arranged so that its geometric center is positioned on the napkin 20d aligned with the vaginal opening.

While various aspects of the tactile sensing arrangement 60 have been described above, other aspects are possible as long as the tactile sensing arrangement 60 can be sensed by the user tactilely from a contact surface within the product.

main body - Cover layer

Cover layer 42 may be a relatively low density, bulky, and very lofted nonwoven web material. The cover layer 42 may consist of only one type of fiber, for example polyester or polypropylene, or may comprise a mixture of one or more fibers. The cover may be composed of bicomponent or bonded fibers having a low melting point component and a high melting point component. The fibers can be selected from various natural and synthetic fibers such as nylon, polyester, rayon (blends with other fibers), cotton, acrylic fibers, and the like and blends thereof. Preferably, the basis weight range of cover layer 42 is from about 10 gsm to about 75 gsm.

The bicomponent fiber may consist of a polyester layer and a polyethylene outer layer. Soluble nonwoven fabrics are produced when the appropriate two-component material is used. Examples of such soluble fabrics are described in US Pat. No. 4,555,430, issued to Chicoppe on November 26, 1985. Using soluble fabrics increases the ease of laminating the cover layer to the absorbent and / or barrier layers.

The cover layer 42 preferably has a relatively high wettability, but the individual fibers comprising the cover may not be particularly hydrophilic. In addition, the cover material should contain a number of relatively large pores. This is because the cover layer 42 is for quickly absorbing body fluids and transporting them away from the body and the point of desorption. Thus, the cover layer contributes little to the time (permeation time) it takes for the sanitary napkin to absorb a certain amount of liquid.

Advantageously, the fibers that make up the cover layer 42 should not lose their physical properties when they are wet. In other words, they should not disrupt or lose their stability when exposed to water or body fluids. Cover layer 42 may be treated to allow fluid to pass through it quickly. The cover layer 42 also functions to quickly transfer body fluids to other layers of the absorbent system 44. Thus, cover layer 42 is advantageously wettable, hydrophilic and porous. When composed of synthetic hydrophobic fibers such as polyester or bicomponent fibers, the cover layer 42 may be treated with a surfactant to provide the desired wettability.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cover is made of a spunlace nonwoven material comprising about 0 to about 100% polyester and about 0 to about 100% rayon. In addition, the spunlace material may be made from about 10 to about 65% rayon and about 35 to about 90% polyester. Instead of polyester and / or with polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene or cellulosic fibers may be used with rayon. Optionally, the material used for the cover layer may include binders such as thermoplastic binders and latex binders.

Alternatively, the cover layer 42 may also consist of a polymer film with large voids. Due to this high porosity, the film acts to quickly transfer body fluids to the inner layer of the absorption system. Perforated coextruded films and commercially available sanitary napkins described in US Pat. No. 4,690,679 may be useful as cover layers in the present invention.

The cover layer 42 may emboss the remaining absorbent system 44 to promote hydrophilicity by fusing the cover to the next layer. This fusion can be performed locally, at multiple sites or over the entire contact surface of the cover layer 42 and the absorbent system 44. Alternatively, cover layer 42 may be attached to absorbent system 44 by other means such as adhesion.

Body-Absorption System

Absorption system 44 may comprise a single layer material or may comprise multiple layers. In one aspect, the absorbent system 44 is a blend or mixture of superabsorbents disposed within and between fibers of cellulosic fibers and pulp.

Cellulosic fibers that can be used in the absorbent system 44 are well known in the art and include wool pulp, cotton, flax and peat moss. Wool pulp is preferred. Pulp may be obtained from mechanical or chemical-mechanical, sulfite, kraft, pulping reject material, organic solvent pulp, and the like. Both conifer and hardwood species are useful. Soft wood pulp is preferred. Cellulose fibers need not be treated with chemical debonders, crosslinkers and the like for use in the materials of the present invention. Certain portions of the pulp can be chemically treated as discussed in US Pat. No. 5,916,670 to improve the flexibility of the product. The flexibility of the material can also be improved by mechanically treating the material or by softening the material.

Absorption system 44 may contain any superabsorbent polymer (SPA), which is well known in the art. For the purposes of the present invention, the term SPA means a substance capable of absorbing and retaining body fluids of at least about 10 times their weight under a pressure of 0.5 psi. Superabsorbent polymer particles of the invention can be crosslinked inorganic or organic hydrophilic polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene oxide, crosslinked starch, guar gum, xanthan gum and the like. The particles can be in the form of powder, grains, granules or fibers. Preferred SPA particles for use in the present invention are crosslinked polyacrylates such as those sold under the trade name SA70N available from Sumitomo Seika Chemicals Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) and those sold by Stockhausen Inc. .

main body - Barrier layer

A barrier layer 50 comprising a fluid-impermeable membrane material is present below the absorber layer 44 to prevent liquid trapped in the absorbent system from escaping from the sanitary napkin and contaminating the wearer's underwear. The barrier layer 50 may be made of a liquid impermeable, air permeable material such as a waterproof nonwoven or microporous membrane or foam, but is preferably made of a polymer membrane.

The barrier layer is breathable, ie can release steam. Known materials for this purpose include nonwoven materials and microporous membranes, wherein the microvoids are produced, in particular, by stretching the membrane in one direction. Permeable membranes, fabrics, monolayers or multilayers of melt-blown materials, and combinations thereof, which provide a winding path and / or provide a liquid surface whose surface properties are waterproof to liquid permeation, are also breathable It can be used to provide a back sheet of a. Cover layer 42 and barrier layer 50 are joined along their ends to form an enclosed seal or flange seal that maintains absorbent layer 44 mooring.

Any or all cover layers, absorbent layers, moving layers, back sheet layers, and adhesion layers can be colored. Such coloring includes, but is not limited to, white, black, red, yellow, blue, orange, green, violet and mixtures thereof. Coloring can be imparted according to the invention via dyeing, pigmenting and printing. Colorants used according to the invention include dyes and inorganic and organic pigments. Dyes include anthraquinone dyes (Solvent Red 111, Dispulse Violet 1, Solvent Blue 56 and Solvent Green 3), Xanthene dyes (Solvent Green 4, Acid Red 52, Basic Red 1, and Solvent Orange 63), azine dyes (Jet Black) and the like, but is not limited thereto. Inorganic pigments include, but are not limited to, titanium dioxide (white), carbon black (black), iron oxide (red, yellow and brown), chromium oxide (green), ferric ammonium ferrocyanide (blue), and the like.

Organic pigments are diarylide yellow AAOA (pigment yellow 12), diarylide yellow AAOT (pigment yellow 14), phthalocyanine blue (pigment blue 15), littol red (pigment red 49: 1), red lake C (pigment red) And the like, but are not limited thereto.

Absorbent products may include foams, reticular substances, perfumes, pharmaceuticals or pharmaceutical preparations, wetting agents, odor inhibitors, and the like, other known materials, layers, and additives. The absorbent article may optionally be embossed with a decorative design.

The absorbent product may be packaged without wrapping the absorbent product in a carton, box or bag. The consumer withdraws the ready-to-use material if necessary. The absorbent products can also be individually packaged (each absorbent product is packaged in an overlap).

The present invention also encompasses parallel long axis distal, dumbbell or peanut-shaped asymmetric and symmetric absorbing products, in addition to products having a viscous structure for thong-style underwear.

From the foregoing description, those skilled in the art can grasp the important features of the invention and make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The illustrative aspects are not intended to limit possible changes in practicing the invention.

The absorbent article attachable to the body according to the present invention includes a tactile sensing arrangement which can be sensed by the user tactilely from the contact surface of the product, whereby the body fluid leaks due to the attachment of the product to an inappropriate body part of the product. Fixes the problem that the overall function is degraded.

Claims (23)

A body-attachable absorbent article comprising a body contact surface, an inner contact surface, an adhesive applied to the body contact surface to secure the product to the body, and a tactile sensing arrangement that the user can sense tactilely from the contact surface in the product. The absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the tactile sensing arrangement is disposed above the absorbent article to align with the vaginal opening of the user. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the tactile sensing arrangement has a geometric center disposed over the absorbent article to align with the vaginal opening of the user. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the tactile sensing arrangement comprises one or more tactile rings that the user can sense tactilely from a contact surface within the product. The absorbent article of claim 4, wherein the tactile sensing arrangement comprises a plurality of concentric rings. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the tactile sensing arrangement comprises one or more members that can be sensed tactilely. The body of claim 1, wherein the tactile sensing arrangement comprises a first member that can be sensed tactilely and one or more second members that can be sensed by tactile sense disposed within the first member that can be sensed tactilely. Absorbent product that can be attached to. 7. The absorbent article of claim 6 wherein the tactile senseable member extends outward at least 0.25 mm with respect to the inner contact surface. The absorbent article attachable to the body of claim 8, wherein the tactile sense member extends outward at least 0.50 mm with respect to the inner contact surface. 10. The absorbent article as set forth in claim 9 wherein the tactile senseable member extends outside at least 1.0 mm with respect to the inner contact surface. The absorbent article of claim 1 which is one of a sanitary napkin, a sanitary liner and an adult incontinence product. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the tactile sensing arrangement is formed by embossing the article. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the tactile sensing arrangement comprises one or more protrusions extending from the contact surface in the interior. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein the tactile sensing arrangement comprises a plurality of protrusions. 15. The absorbent article of claim 14 wherein the plurality of protrusions are contoured in geometry. 16. The absorbent article of claim 15 wherein the geometry is centered and the protrusions are disposed on contact surfaces in the interior so that the center of the geometry is located in a portion of the product adapted to be placed above the vaginal opening of the user. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the tactile sensing arrangement comprises one or more layers of material applied to a contact surface in the interior. 18. The absorbent article of claim 17 wherein the layer of material has a geometric center and the layer of material is disposed so that the layer of material is located in a portion of the article to which the geometric center is applied so as to be placed over the user's vaginal opening. The absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the tactile sensing arrangement can be sensed by the user in the invisible state. Tactile sensing arrangement placed in a position that can be tactilely sensed by the user and aligned with the user's vaginal opening from the cover layer, barrier layer, adhesive applied to the body contact surface of the cover layer to secure the product to the body An absorbent product attachable to the body, comprising water. 21. The absorbent article of claim 20 further comprising an absorbent system disposed between the cover layer and the barrier layer. A cover layer, a barrier layer constructed and arranged so that a portion extends out of the end of the cover layer, an adhesive applied over the body contact surface to secure the product to the body and the user's tactile sensing from the contact surface within the product and aligned with the user's vaginal opening An absorbent article attachable to the body, comprising a tactile sensing arrangement disposed in a position adapted to. A tactile sensing placement is placed on an absorbent product that is tactilely attachable to the body, the tactile sensing arrangement is tactilely aligned with the user's vaginal opening, and the tactile sensing placement is attached to the body so that it is aligned with the user's vaginal opening. A method of applying an absorbent product attachable to the body to a body, the method comprising adhering the absorbent product to a user's body.

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